In response to the death by electrocution of a construction worker and a subsequent lawsuit, Austin Energy has increased the minimum distance between power lines and new buildings, a regulation the utility says will keep workers safer. A jury in 2019 found Austin Energy guilty of negligence in the death of Jaime Membreno, who was […]
City Hall
Posted inCity Council
Council solidifies its vow to include child care in all new city developments
Reaffirming its commitment to including family-friendly features in new city-owned and -sponsored buildings and projects, City Council doubled down with a vote to ensure child care facilities are also included. As part of the resolution brought by Council Member Kathie Tovo, Council also voted Thursday to include on-site child care services in any future city […]
Posted inCity Hall
Council questions proposed arts funding change that emphasizes equity
City Council has asked Cultural Arts staff to look at revising or delaying its plan to significantly redistribute its limited pool of contracts toward groups that meet an increased focus on equity. At a Tuesday work session presentation, the proposed new funding structure was seen as too severe toward longtime recipients, especially legacy arts groups […]
Posted inPremium Types
TipSheet: City Council, 8.26.21
In good news for reporters covering City Hall, today’s City Council meeting looks to be on the lighter side, with not much more than a handful of zoning cases to focus on. (It’s always worth noting, however, that trying to predict the length of a Council meeting is a fool’s errand. One just never knows […]
Posted inCity Hall
Council takes hard look at what went wrong during winter storm
After taking in an extremely critical report about the city’s response to Winter Storm Uri, City Council members stressed the need to prepare for the next inevitable disaster. “There’s nobody here that didn’t fight long and hard and sleeplessly and in the cold, and didn’t experience heartache during the course of watching our infrastructure quite […]
Posted inBudget
Commissioners ponder putting millions into jail revamp
If the Sheriff’s Office gets its budget request granted, inmates in Travis County correctional facilities may soon be sporting radio-frequency identification wristbands to track their whereabouts within the jail at all times. According to the Sheriff’s Office, it intends to use the technology to help contain coronavirus within the jail through contact-tracing and ensuring infected […]
Posted inCity Hall
Committee accepts critical city hiring audit
Members of the City Council Audit & Finance Committee delved into details of the city recruiting and hiring audit at yesterday’s meeting, questioning both the audit staff and Human Resources Director Joya Hayes. As noted in Wednesday’s Austin Monitor, only 39 percent of the city’s Municipal Civil Service workforce are women, as compared to 50 […]
Posted inCity Hall
City not tracking its interlocal agreements
The city of Austin has entered into a multitude of interlocal agreements, with Travis County, local school districts and even the state of Texas, worth millions of dollars. Yet no one at the city knows exactly how many of these agreements are in effect and the agreements are spread out among departments, not filed in […]
Posted inAustin
Questions linger on both sides of $1.1M guaranteed income pilot program
Initial details of the city’s forthcoming pilot program to provide guaranteed income assistance to vulnerable families are expected to emerge later this fall, with just over 100 households expected to receive around $1,000 per month. A spokesperson for the city’s Equity Office said information about the program, which City Council budgeted at $1.1 million, is […]
Posted inCity Hall
Audit: City failing to hire equal numbers of women
While the city has achieved its overall goal of hiring racial and ethnic minorities in numbers equal to the local population, only 39 percent of Austin’s Municipal Civil Service workforce are women, compared to 50 percent of the Austin-Round Rock area population, according to a report by the Office of the City Auditor. Municipal Civil […]
Posted inBudget
Commissioners approve the creation of Emergency Services jobs
At Tuesday’s meeting of the Commissioners Court, county budget chief Travis Gatlin delivered updates about the 2022 budget and made specific requests to finance staff positions from the 2021 budget. Additional budget hearings will continue later this week, where the court will hear more budgetary requests from county departments. Gatlin discussed a new chief deputy position […]
Posted inCity Hall
Austin moves forward with new vaccine incentives for city employees
A plan to pay vaccinated city employees a $100 stipend has been scrapped in favor of a new incentive program for those who work for the city. The incentives, Mayor Steve Adler explained, are designed to promote vaccinations and to serve as a model to employers citywide. The new plan will allow vaccinated city employees […]